What We Both Need
by missgrace114
Summary: A fic carried on from Mac and Jo's conversation at the end of S7 Ep18 rated M for where I hope to go with this fic.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

"_Hey, if I buy you a burger and a beer will you stop talking?"_

"_Done! You know I have a weakness for food!...Let's get a real juicy, greasy hamburger and a light beer"_

They both walked down the corridor of the lab with Mac still smiling at the conversation he'd just had with Jo about becoming a father. It was something he had thought about on the odd occasion, even more so with the day's events. Ellie Danville was a very bright and outgoing young girl, just like her mum, but he had always felt like there was something missing behind her eyes. Something she had been afraid to talk to Jo about.

"So where we going?" Jo asked, pulling Mac out of his thoughts.

"Well how about that diner Harvey's you went to with Ellie? I have not been able to stop thinking about that heaven on a sesame bun ever since you went!" Mac said smiling.

"Oh my god Mac those hamburgers are awesome, you will not regret it." Jo said smiling back at him. Why was it that she found it so easy to talk to him and be herself, yes as soon as Russ was around she froze up?

"Do you want to come along with me and I'll drop you back home? There's no point us both driving, and I'll swing by in the morning and pick you up?" Mac suggested

"Yeah sounds good to me, I'll just grab Ellie's soccer boots out of my car, she will never forgive me if I don't come home with them tonight, she's got a big game after school tomorrow." Jo said running to her car before joining him back at his car, both of them getting in and setting off for the diner.

A few hours later they were the only ones left in the diner. The owner had allowed it to stay open when he saw it was for NYPD's finest.

"You know I haven't thanked you for earlier" Jo said leaning against the bar they were sitting at.

"What for Jo, I only listened?" Mac asked

"Exactly, you just listened and didn't judge! Do you know how many of my friends think it was wrong for me not to tell Ellie about her real Mom? You just helped in a way no one else has" Jo said looking into his eyes and receiving a smile from Mac.

"You're welcome, you've listened to me enough over the last few months…anyway you're an amazing mother, what you did for Ellie took a lot of courage, especially to do it on your own" he said taking a sip of his drink.

"Thanks, and I know I said I would not talk about this anymore…but you really would make a fantastic father!" Jo said cheekily moving away quickly from Mac's playful slap to her arm.

"Jo please, clearly blackmailing you with food does no good! I will have to rethink my methods next time!" he replied.

"Oh yeah, and what would those methods be exactly?" she asked. She knew she was flirting with him, Mac, her boss, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Well you'll just have to wait and see won't you!" Mac answered with a wink. What was going through his head he would never know, but it felt right talking like this again, having fun with a woman, but she was not just any ordinary woman, she was Jo Danville, his colleague, his friend and someone who he was falling more and more for every day.

"Sorry I won't mention it again!" she replied giggling.

"No it's ok…between you and me… I have thought about it before…becoming a father, but it just never happened, just time got away with me I guess." Mac said sadly.

Jo knew this was a sore spot and she could be risking completely changing the mood of the night, but she had to say it to him, let him now she was there for him.

"I know about her you know….Claire" Jo said swirling the drink around in her glass.

Mac looked up at her, a look that asked her a million questions.

"Lindsey told me…I can't even remember how it came up, but I'm glad I know, it sort of helps me see how Mac Taylor ticks…I am so sorry Mac, if anything I know what you're going through" she stated feeling the lump rise in her throat just looking into his tear threatened eyes.

"What do you mean?" Mac asked intrigued.

"I lost someone too that day…Pippa, she was my best friend." Jo said swallowing hard.

"Jo…I didn't know." Mac was quick to say.

"How would you Mac…we grew up together, knew each other since Kindergarten, we did everything together, even got braces together" she said laughing before continuing.

"When we graduated she came to New York to start an internship at an accountancy firm at the towers. She was so excited you know, couldn't wait to get there and get started. Years went by and we kept in touch, with me in Washington and her here in the city, she's even Tyler's godmother. That day came and I woke up in the morning just feeling weird you know, like something wasn't quite right! It wasn't until Russ called me and told me to turn on the tv that my fears were confirmed. That plane….that plane hit two floors below her office Mac, she had no chance of getting out, no chance at all, as soon as they said the floor numbers I knew she was gone…that I'd lost her." Jo said tears running down her face.

"I don't know what to say Jo, apart from I'm so unbelievably sorry." Mac said taking her hand and entwining their fingers together.

"Well we all have to move on don't we, I know they say it gets easier, but it doesn't not really does it? I keep expecting her to call or to see an email from her, but nothing, then it all comes flooding back." Jo said feeling the warmth spread through her as Mac brushed his thumb across her hand.

"I'm glad you told me, and no it doesn't get easier, when I lost Claire it felt like my whole world fell apart, like my heart just stopped beating, but one day I woke up and it just felt better you know, my heart didn't ache anymore, or ache as much anyway." He said wiping the tears off Jo's face.

"Well that was a different way to end an evening" Jo joked.

"Yeah well I'm glad you shared with me, come on I'll drive you home" Mac said standing up and planting a kiss on her forehead. Except it felt very different from when Russ did it, it felt right and Jo struggled to control the butterflies in her stomach as they walked out of the diner.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The team had been working all week on a case involving a man and a woman whose 5 year old child had disappeared two years ago, supposedly snatched from their local supermarket. Mac and Jo had been trying to find out more information about the family, the father in particular who seemed suspicious to everyone, whilst Lindsey and the rest of the team were working on the evidence back at the lab. Mac and Jo were just on their way back to the lab after having another session with the girl's parents.

"So…what do you think?" Mac asked her as they got into his SUV.

"Mmm, I dunno, they seem genuine but maybe that's just the mother in me, there's something about the father though, he seems too open to me, he was just too keen to let all his dirty laundry out to dry, not many families do that". Jo said doing up her seatbelt.

"Yeah I know what you mean, they didn't look too close though did they?" Mac stated driving away from the family's suburb.

"What do you mean, they looked normal to me, well whatever normal is. They did lose their child Mac, how any relationship can carry on as normal after that I will never know!" Jo said looking over at him.

"Well for a start he could not keep his eyes off you!" Mac said glancing over at her.

"Oh please! He was not looking at me in anyway but the fact that I was an NYPD detective interviewing him…I have no idea what you're talking about!" Jo said trying not to laugh.

"As soon as we walked through that door this morning his eyes popped out of his head!" Mac said teasing her.

"Oh shut up! And anyway I thought Mrs Andrews was checking you out too, how many times did she ask you whether you'd like a coffee Detective Taylor huh?" Jo said giggling.

"Well maybe we need to stop being so damn irresistible then don't we?" Mac said looking back over at her and winking playfully.

"Damn straight!" Jo said high fiving him.

They got back to the lab and were still talking and laughing as they got out of the elevator; however they were interrupted by Ellie running up to Jo.

"Mom, where have you been?" Ellie asked with her hands on her hips.

"Umm sweetie I do have to work you know, anyway why aren't you with you Grandma?" Jo asked worried as to why she was there.

"Grandma believe it or not, had a date so she ditched me here to go out to a tea dance with Harry from across the road, seriously Mom, it was so gross! Anyway I am fine, but it's Tyler's birthday in two days and I have got him nothing yet, please some and help me!" Ellie said smiling sweetly at her mother.

"Honey I would but we have a lot of work to do here and I can't really drop everything, we'll go tonight when I finish ok?" Jo said running her hand through her daughter's hair.

"No it's fine Jo, you go, there's not much else we can do for this afternoon anyway." Mac said smiling at Ellie who had the biggest grin on her face.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Mac, you're awesome…and well if there isn't anything else for you to do here, would you come too? It's just Tyler really wants a new watch and well, me and Mom aren't really great on guy's things are we Mom?" Ellie said nudging Jo.

"Oh well I don't know…." Mac went to say but he was dazzled by Ellie's sparkle in her eyes, if it wasn't for the fact she was adopted he'd have said she had her mother's beautiful eyes.

"Oh ok...I'll just go get my coat, if that's ok with you Jo?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah sure, and well it seems Miss Danville has made up her mind that she needs a man's perspective anyway, so yeah the more the merrier!" Jo said trying to hide her inner excitement that Mac was coming out with her and Ellie.

Mac went off and got his coat and the three of them left the lab and travelled down the elevator to the parking lot, with them all climbing into Mac's SUV and heading off for the shops.

They had been looking around a department store for about an hour, but Ellie just couldn't find the right one for Tyler. Jo had gone off quickly to check out the clothes department to see if she could find anything there, leaving Mac and Ellie alone.

"So Ellie, why did you ask me to tag along to help and not Russ, he is Tyler's father after all?" Mac asked the young girl with intrigue.

"Well to be honest I don't really like him!" Ellie said honestly, looking up at Mac.

"Why's that?" Mac asked interestingly.

"Well apart from the fact that he tries way too hard with me, and I know he only does it to impress Mom! The way he hangs around her is so gross! As if she would even go back with him, but he is just so determined you know! He thinks just because they both had Tyler that he has this huge tie to her and I hate it, behind Mom's back he is a complete ass to me, just ignores me like I don't matter, all because I am not his daughter, I hate it!" Ellie said getting angry but showing her vulnerability at the same time.

"Well you do matter, and if keeps doing that just tell me and I'll have a word with your Mom." Mac said protectively.

"Oh god don't do that, it would just make things worse, and besides I find it kind of funny to watch him trying so hard and she doesn't even care or notice half the time!" Ellie said laughing.

"She doesn't huh?" Mac questioned, feeling a swell of happiness that Jo wasn't interested in her ex-husband.

"Nope, oh this is hopeless, I am never gunna find Tyler a new watch!" Ellie said groaning.

"Well how about this one?" Mac asked pointing at a watch that was perfect for a teenage boy just into his twenties at college.

"Oh my god Mac it's perfect! Thank you!" Ellie said hugging Mac. He instantly returned the hug, looking down into the young girl's big brown eyes.

Ellie quickly paid for the watch and returned to Mac. They were waiting for Jo to return so they started trying on hats, both laughing at what the other looked like, and all Jo could do was look on from round the corner with the biggest smile on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Jo carried on watching Mac and Ellie mess around for a few more minutes before she walked back over.

"Hey you guys find what you wanted?" Jo asked making them both turn around, still laughing.

"Umm yeah, Mac found this one, it's awesome isn't it?" Ellie said showing her the watch.

"Yeah it's great, Tyler will love it, and love you even more for buying it". Jo said smiling at her daughter.

"You guys hungry?" Mac asked the two of them.

"Do you not know my Mom enough to know that she is always hungry?" Ellie said teasing her Mom.

"Well thank you so much missy! Let's just tell Mac all my secrets shall we!" Jo said walking along with them both out of the shop.

"Nah that's ok Mom, I'm sure Mac will find them out all on his own!" Ellie said running away from Jo's hand to the back of her head.

"You cheeky madam, I did not bring her up to be like that Mac" Jo said giggling.

"It's ok Jo I think it's great that she feels she can be that cheeky with you, and besides…it might be fun finding out your secrets." Mac said with a sneaky smile that didn't go un-noticed by Ellie.

A few hours later, they had gone out to dinner, with Mac insisting on he paid, and Jo and Ellie were now back at their apartment wrapping up Tyler's presents.

"Did you have a nice night Mom?" Ellie asked her.

"Yeah it was great, did you?" Jo answered handing Ellie the scissors.

"It was awesome, I like Mac, he's fun" Ellie said smiling up at her Mom.

"He has his moments, although I think you tend to bring it out of him more." Jo said.

"He looked so funny in some of those hats Mom, like really funny!" Ellie said laughing loudly remembering the moment.

"Well I'm glad you had a good time… right bed for you my lovely it's a school night and we have Tyler's party on Saturday." Jo said standing up from the living room floor.

"Ok, thanks for today Mom, I really enjoyed it, love you" Ellie said standing up and hugging her Mom close.

"Love you too pumpkin, sleep well" Jo said kissing her on the cheek and watching her walk into her room.

All Ellie could think about as she got ready for bed was how to get her Mom and Mac together, they were perfect for each other and Mac's little glances at her over dinner proved he was crazy about her.

Meanwhile Jo began to tidy up the wrapping paper and cups from their hot chocolate when her phone rang. She picked it up off the side and saw Mac's name appear on the screen, she smiled to herself then accepted the call.

"Well hello, and to what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked him smiling.

"Well I couldn't get those secrets of yours out of my head so was kinda hoping you'd divulge them to me." Mac answered sniggering.

"Ooh now that would be telling Mac, I don't know if I trust you enough to tell you all!" Jo said giggling lightly as she walked into the kitchen.

"Well what can I do to persuade you?" Mac asked flirtatiously.

"Mmm now let me think…what do I want?" Jo asked herself.

"Drag this out why don't you!" Mac laughed at the end.

"Well I need to make sure I get fair payment for one of my secrets." Jo said sitting down at the breakfast counter.

"Only one?" Mac whined.

"Yes only one, I am not revealing everything about me all at once" Jo giggled teasingly, something that sent shivers up Mac's spine.

"Ok ok, well how about I buy you lunch tomorrow, and I also promise your coffee will be on your desk first thing tomorrow morning, ready for your arrival?" Mac proposed.

"Mmm let me think…ok you've got yourself a deal…ok now what secret do I reveal first?" Jo said thinking out loud, making Mac laugh down the phone.

"Ok I have it…when I was 10 I made up that I was allergic to mushrooms jut so I wouldn't have to eat them at school, I just actually didn't like them." Jo said.

"Is that it? You made up that fact that you were allergic to mushrooms just because you didn't like them! That is pathetic Jo; I was hoping for something a bit juicier then that!" Mac protested laughing at the same time.

"Well you will just have to keep trying then won't you Taylor?" Jo said playing with the edge of her cup.

"Yeah I will, right well I will see you tomorrow bright and early, coffee in hand." Mac answered her, he didn't want to stop talking to her but it was getting late.

"Ok, night Mac" Jo said smiling brightly.

"Night beautiful" Mac answered putting the phone down.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was now Saturday and Tyler's birthday. Jo had woken up early to prepare his special birthday breakfast. She was just plating up the pancakes when she heard Ellie and Tyler running into the kitchen.

"Well good morning you two, come here you, my gorgeous birthday boy!" Jo said embracing her son in a hug.

"Thanks Mom! This all looks great; I never get tired of birthday breakfasts!" Tyler said as he sat down at the table.

"Me either!" Ellie said with a mouthful of pancake making the other two laugh.

"Well someone was very popular this morning; your phone was going off non-stop!" Jo said smiling over at Tyler.

"Yeah well I am the birthday boy; it's only natural that I would be extra popular on this day!" Tyler said laughing.

"What do you mean extra popular? Since when were you ever popular to be extra popular?" Ellie said teasing her brother.

"Oi you!" Tyler said tickling her.

"No Tyler stop I'll be sick on you!" Ellie said making him stop immediately.

"All right you two, eat up we have lots to do today to get ready for the party tonight." Jo said smiling on at her two children. They may drive her crazy sometimes, but she wouldn't swap them for anything in the world.

"Hey Mom, do you mind if I invite Mac along tonight? He sent me a text earlier to wish me happy birthday, and I just thought it would be nice for him to be there too tonight, but I wanted to check it with you first." Tyler asked her.

"Yeah that would be fine by me, he really sent you a message?" Jo asked hoping she wasn't showing her excitement too much.

"Yeah, after everything that happened with Ellie a few weeks ago, we swapped numbers; he said if I ever needed help with anything to give him a call." Tyler said taking one more bite of his breakfast before going to have a shower.

Jo walked over to the sink, pretending she was going to wash the plates up, but she had turned around so Ellie couldn't see the beaming smile plastered on her face. Mac really was an amazingly sweet guy, and he was always looking out for the three of them.

"You know what Mom; I think you should wear your new black dress to the party tonight." Ellie said joining Jo at the sink.

"Really honey? Why that one?" Jo asked her.

"Because Mac will love it, and it will make that smile on your face even bigger!" Ellie said putting her plate in the sink and walking to her room. She was going to make sure her Mom was happy, she was sure of it. Jo turned around and watched Ellie walk away, with one thing running through her mind; how did she know so much?

An hour later and Jo was just out of the shower when her phone rang. She once again saw Mac's name appear on the screen, smiling she pressed the accept call button and sat down on her bed.

"Hello". Jo said running her hands through her wet hair, scrunching it up.

"Morning, how are you today?" Mac asked smoothly.

"Oh I'm fine thanks my baby boy is 22 today so I am feeling older by the second, but other than that I am fine!" Jo said smiling.

"Yeah about that, you don't mind if I come to Tyler's party tonight do you? I just got a message from him asking me to come." Mac said hoping she'd be ok with it, but trying to come up with a way of being ok with it if she wasn't.

"Yeah sure it'll be great, he has got so many friends coming I've lost count, Ellie's got a few friends coming too so she doesn't feel left out, but no it'll be great for you to come, plus it'll give me someone to talk to." Jo said sighing.

"What's that sigh for Jo, are you telling me that there will not be at least one person for you to talk to there? My thoughts of you being Miss Popular are diminishing by the second." Mac joked making her snigger down the other end of the phone.

"Well it's not that, it's just that Russ will be there obviously, and I don't want to be stuck talking to him all night, although I am sure he will try his best to." Jo said lying down on the bed.

"Well ok, but not because you are going to use me as a diversion from your ex -husband but because it's Tyler's birthday and he's asked me to come…although being your diversion does sound quite fun." Mac said smiling.

"You wouldn't be a diversion, jut someone who can talk to me and give me a reason to not talk to Russ that's all…plus it'll be nice seeing you out of work, it doesn't happen very often." Jo said already picturing what Mac might look like out of the usual suit ensemble he usually wore. Then her mind wandered to what he might look like with nothing on and she began to get all hot and flustered, quick woman think of anything else!

"Ok well I will see you at 7pm at Marcella's, why did he pick there by the way?" Mac asked intrigued.

"That was his favourite restaurant growing up, whenever we visited the city he wanted to go there, I think they even have his picture up on the wall he was such a regular!" Jo said laughing.

"It's nice there, been a few times, nice place to have a party too, have you warned them about sound levels?" Mac joked.

"Yes I have, well more like told the owners there will be about 25 college guys celebrating a birthday and I think they just got the message!" Jo said laughing.

"Ok well I'll see you later, have a nice morning" Mac said grabbing his running shoes ready to go out for a quick bout of exercise before the party that evening.

"Yeah I really must get dressed at some point, see you later" Jo said putting the phone down.

As soon as Mac heard that he had to sit back down again. His mind was going into overdrive picturing Jo with no clothes on! He had often caught himself watching her sitting at her office on the couch going over case notes. He legs were crossed and even though she had trousers on you could still make out the fact she had an amazing pair of legs and an amazing figure. The other day she had rushed into the office because she'd left her cell phone on her desk. She was wearing a figure hugging dress that wrapped around her entire body. She was late to meet a friend for lunch and as soon as she'd rushed in she had rushed out again, but it still gave Mac enough imagery to picture her in that dress the rest of the day! So just imagining her with no clothes on was enough to send a man crazy! He was looking forward to that evening that was for sure.

By 6pm the party was ready to get going and some of Tyler's friends were already there, having helped them all set up. Jo had found a table to put Tyler's presents on and she was just about to put up some more balloons when Mac arrived.

"Hey you're early" Jo said standing back down on the floor off the ladder.

"Yeah well I got an elusive text from your youngest saying that you guys might need some help setting up." Mac said waving at an eager Ellie.

"Oh she did, did she?" Well now you're here you can hold this ladder still, I just have one more bunch of balloons to pin up.

"Well I can do that for you if you want?" Mac said holding his hand out for the balloons.

"Oh well thank you so much, but I think I've got this covered" Jo said in her rich southern tone.

Mac didn't protest, he'd known Jo Danville long enough to know when she wanted to do something herself, and besides it gave him the perfect opportunity to look at her in that dress a bit longer. The dress showed off her figure perfectly and clung to her long, toned legs in all the right places.

"See something you like Taylor?" Jo asked as she made her way down the ladder again.

"Umm…umm yeah…nice dress." Mac managed to get out eventually.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself, nice seeing you in something other than a suit." She said as she climbed down with an offered hand from him. As soon as their hands touched it sent tingles through both of them, something they tried hard to hide.

"Yeah well thought a suit would be a bit formal for the big guy's birthday, here he is!" Mac said as Tyler came bounding over to join them.

"Hey Mac, thanks for coming!" Tyler said patting him on the back.

"Well thanks for inviting me, and here have this, happy birthday" Mac said passing him an envelope.

"Oh Mac you didn't have to…woah!" Tyler said opening up the envelope and seeing what was inside.

"What is it?" Jo asked him thrilled Mac had bought her son something.

"It's tickets to the game this week, my god Mac how did you get hold of these, I've been trying to get hold of some for ages!" Tyler said ecstatic with his present.

"Well let's just say I have a friend who works there" Mac said getting a smile and a wink from Jo.

"These are awesome Mac thanks, but I will only accept them on one condition." Tyler said holding them up.

"What's that?" Mac asked him.

"That you come with me, and maybe you can introduce me to this friend of yours!" Tyler said smiling cheekily.

"Deal!" Mac said high fiving him.

Tyler ran off to show his friends the tickets who all put a thumbs up to Mac.

"You know you've made a friend for life there don't you! That was really sweet of you Mac, you didn't have to get him anything" Jo said rubbing his arm.

"Well it's my pleasure, it' his birthday Jo, I couldn't exactly turn up empty handed could I, and besides it'll be fun, fancy a drink?" he asked her as they walked over to the bar.

"Yeah sure, white wine please" Jo told the bar tender

"And I'll have a beer please" Mac said after her.

As they waited for their drinks and Mac took them off the bar tender, Jo couldn't help but notice how good he looked tonight. She thought he looked good in a suit, especially when he took his jacket off and she could see the way his arms rippled when he lifted something or held his gun up, but tonight…he looked even better.

"See something you like Danville?" he said returning the comment she'd made earlier.

"Yes, very much indeed!" Jo said flirtatiously.

It was going to be a good night!

Jo's dress: ./g3654s2

Mac's outfit: .com/shop/mens/mens-ttoshirts/slubby-grandad-tee_215127942


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_"See something you like Danville?" he said returning the comment she'd made earlier._

_"Yes, very much indeed!" Jo said flirtatiously._

Mac was just about to respond when he spotted Russ walking in to the restaurant out of the corner of my eye.

"As if on cue!" Jo said sighing and taking a large sip of her wine.

"Jo! Hi! Wow you look….amazing" Russ said looking her up and down in a way that Mac wasn't entirely happy about.

"Russ, you look…nice too" Jo answered trying to think of something to say. She didn't want her reply to sound too eager and him to get the wrong idea.

"This is Becky; she is the new recruit to the department." Russ said, smugly introducing his date for the night. Becky was a tall, leggy blonde with the whitest teeth Mac had ever seen, she wasn't his type, not in the slightest, but you couldn't argue that she was a beautiful woman.

"Nice to meet you Becky, I'm Tyler's Mom" Jo said shaking Becky's hand.

"Nice to meet you too Jo, I've heard a lot about you, Russ hasn't stopped talking about you since I met him." Becky said through what Mac and Jo quickly gathered were gritted teeth.

"Right well shall we go find the birthday boy?" Russ said quickly ushering Becky away from Jo and Mac.

"Wow, that was weird!" Jo said moving over to a sitting area with Mac.

"Yeah I bet, she seemed ok though." Mac said sitting down next to her, trying to hide his blush as Jo's dress moved higher up her leg as she sat down.

"Mac, we were literally talking to her for five seconds, how did you decipher that she was as you put it 'ok'?" Jo laughed.

"Ok well maybe I am just being friendly, but maybe it may be a good idea if you stay away from her tonight, she did not seem too pleased at the high appraisal you'd got from Russ!" Mac said taking a swig of his beer, his hand was resting on the sofa just behind Jo's head, and every time she moved round to talk to him, her hair would brush against his hand, sending chills through his entire body.

"Yeah I think you're right, oh Jenny's here!" Jo said leaping up and running up to the woman who was a spitting image of Jo but slightly older. Jo ran up to her and both women threw their arms around each other.

"Oh Jo Jo it's so good to see!" Jenny said pulling back and holding her face in her hands.

"Auntie Jenny!" Ellie said running up to the woman and being picked up and swung around.

All three women were clinging on to each other and hugging each other. All Mac could do was just sit back and watch the happy reunion. Jo looked up from the group and saw Mac smiling happily at her. She waved for him to come over and as he walked over Jenny couldn't help but see the glint in Jo's eyes as he neared them.

"Mac, this is my big sister Jenny, she's been living in Toronto for six years so I don't get to see her very often, Jen, this is Mac, my boss and a very good friend of mine." Jo said introducing her two favourite people to each other.

"Nice to meet you Jenny, I never would have guessed that you two were sisters, you look nothing like each other!" Mac joked, making Jenny and Jo laugh.

"Yeah well I won't ask you who you think is the more attractive one!" Jenny teased.

"Not if he wants me to come into work on Monday you won't!" Jo said nudging her sister

"Tyler is over there if you wanna go say hey." Jo said pointing over at her son.

Jenny and Ellie left the two of them alone and Jo could not wipe the smile off her face.

"You look happier then I've seen you in ages" Mac said looking into her deep brown eyes.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see Jen, I haven't seen her in…3 years! My god I had no idea it was that long ago!" Jo said sighing.

"Well she seems great, you want another drink?" Mac asked her.

"Yes please, I'm just popping to the bathroom, won't be long." Jo said handing Mac her clutch bag to hold, which he did instantly without really thinking how silly he looked walking along with it.

"So what's the story between your Mom and Mac then?" Jenny asked Tyler and Ellie.

"Well he's her boss, but ever since she started working there he has been a really good friend, they just got on straight away." Tyler said smiling over at Mac at the bar.

"Mom told you all about my mission to find my real Mom didn't she?" Ellie asked her Aunt. When she nodded, she continued.

"Well Mac was amazing throughout it all, he just helped us all like no one has before, especially Mom, she really struggled with what I wanted to do, and Mac was totally there for her, well all of us. I think he's awesome!" Ellie said happily.

"Yeah me too, I mean I don't usually relish the thought of a guy clearly checking my Mother out, but its ok with him, I have no idea why!" Tyler laughed.

"Well how about we leave them to it tonight huh?" Jenny said leading her niece and nephew away to the other side of the restaurant.

Mac ordered the drinks and went and sat back on the sofa they had previously occupied. He sat there for about five minutes when he began to wonder where Jo was. He stood up and looked around the room making sure she was not there. When we was satisfied she was not there, he headed towards the bathrooms. A young woman came out, who looked like she'd be one of Tyler's friends.

"Excuse me; is Tyler's Mom still in there?" Mac asked the young girl.

"Umm, no she came out as I went in; she hovered around here for a minute or two, and then bolted it out of that door". The girl answered.

"Thanks". Mac said walking in the direction Jo had apparently gone.

When he reached outside he looked around for a little bit, then he saw her sitting on a bench across the road, just as you entered Central Park. He walked over the road, and as he got closer he could see she had been crying.

"Jo, what's the matter!" he asked her as he sat down on the bench next to her.

"I found this on the wall…you know that picture I said they had put up as Tyler always used to insist on coming here?" Jo said trying to hold back the tears.

"Yeah, is this it?" Mac asked holding out his hand, and Jo passed it to him. As soon as he saw the picture he could see a very small Tyler grinning at the camera along with a stunningly beautiful Jo, but the other woman in the picture, he couldn't work out who it was."

"Who's this Jo?" pointing at the lady in the picture.

"That's Pippa." Jo said letting the tears flow down her face once more.

"Ahh, oh sweetheart why are you crying? You all look so happy!" Mac asked wrapping his arm around her, stroking her arm up and down.

"That's the point, we were so happy, unbelievably happy, Tyler and I had come to New York to see her, oh Mac we had the most amazing time! I think there's just still a part of me that forgets it all happened, that she's still here." Jo said leaning into Mac more.

"I don't know whether you believe in all this stuff, but she's still here you know. She's probably in there right now dancing away with all Tyler's good looking friends!" Mac joked, making her burst out laughing.

"Yeah probably, that does sound like something she'd do." Jo giggled.

"You ok now?" Mac said lifting her face up and wiping away her tears.

"Yeah I'm ok, god I bet I look a right state now!" Jo said rubbing her face.

"No you look beautiful, you always do." Mac said honestly, he didn't see the point hiding his feelings anymore.

"Yeah right Mac, but thank you, you sure know how to make a girl feel a whole lot better!" Jo said holding his hand.

"Will it make you feel even better if I say you are by far the better looking sister?" Mac teased.

"Oh yeah definitely, but let's keep it between ourselves yeah?" Jo said smiling.

"Ok you're on". Mac said leaning up and kissing her forehead. It may not be the first time that he'd done this, but it still made Jo feel giddy.

Mac pulled back and looked into her eyes, and she looked back. In that moment no one or nothing around them mattered. Mac knew he couldn't go back now. He leaned in and gently caressed her lips with his own. That touch alone made Jo's breath catch in her throat and she tingled from head to toe. He pulled back and looked into her eyes which were sparkling more than usual, if that was possible. This time Jo leaned in and took his lips with hers, adding a bit more pressure than before. Mac lifted his hand and caressed her cheek, pulling her closer to him. They moved in perfect sync as the kiss grew more passionate, and as Jo pulled Mac closer to her by his shirt, they knew that this was the start of something special.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - a bit smutty ; )

They both pulled back from the kiss and rested their heads together. Mac sighed and linked their hands together.

"I suppose we better go back at some point". Mac said sighing again; he had so many feelings rushing through him he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Yeah I suppose we better…although I could stay here all night" she said kissing him again.

"Me too, come on, they'll be wondering where we are." He said standing up and walking back to the restaurant with her. He held her hand the whole time. As soon as they got back he let go of her hand and opened the door for her, winking at her as she walked in.

That wink said everything they were both thinking at that moment. It said that they both felt the same about each other, but they would keep it between themselves, just for now.

"Mom, where have you been?" Ellie asked as she walked up to her Mom.

"Oh, Mac and I just went for a walk." Jo said smiling at her daughter.

"I know you saw the picture of Pippa, Mom, are you ok?" Ellie asked hugging her tight.

"Oh baby girl I'm ok, just took me by a surprise a bit that's all, where's Tyler?" Jo asked her as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Umm he's over there with Aunt Jenny and this girl he can't keep his hands off!" Ellie giggled.

"Ok, well I am just going to go check that out". Jo responded with a chuckle.

"Is Mom ok Mac? I hate it when she gets reminded of Pippa; she just switches off and gets really sad!" Ellie said sitting down at one of the tables with Mac.

"She's ok Ellie, she just misses her that's all, it's hard losing someone you're very close to, I hope you don't have to experience it for a long time!" Mac said smiling at the young girl in front of him; she had grown up so much in the short amount of time he had known her. Even though she wasn't biologically Jo's daughter, she was so much like Jo in every way, caring and beautiful, plus she had her Mom's cheeky sense of humour too.

"Ok, well will you look after her for me? I never got the chance to meet Pippa, so I don't know how Mom feels. Tyler does obviously, but he is at college all the time and I just feel like I'm not doing enough for her sometimes." Ellie sighed sadly.

"I promise I will look after her, but I think you're already doing a great job, so don't worry ok! What's the plan after the party then?" Mac asked her, changing the subject.

"Well I am staying round Beth's tonight, she's my best friend over there in the red top, and Tyler is going out with his college friends I think." Ellie said innocently.

"Ok well I will walk your Mom home then, get this job of looking after your Mom started hey?" Mac said smiling at her.

"Thanks Mac, right I'm gunna go find Beth. I'll see you later." Ellie said running off to join her best friend.

A few hours later and the party was over. Jo said she'd stop and help clear up but Tyler's friends insisted that they'd do it and she wasn't to worry. Jo was just about to go and get her coat, ready to walk home with Mac when Russ stopped her, by holding her arm.

"Can you believe our baby boy is twenty two today?" Russ said smiling at her.

"Yeah well he's not a baby anymore Russ, you off too?" Jo asked him hoping he'd take the hint and leave her alone.

"Yes, I'm just waiting for Becky to finish saying goodbye to all of Tyler's friends! You'd think the woman had never seen a young boy before!" Russ said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah well as nice as it is to chat, I better go, Mac's waiting, thanks for coming Russ, I know how much it meant to Tyler that we were both here tonight." Jo said grabbing her coat.

"Oh Mac's waiting is he, something going on between you is there!" Russ asked jealously.

"You know what Russ, you gave up the right to know who I am friends with and who I am not when we got divorced, good night" Jo said walking away.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry Jo, I just still find it difficult to imagine you with anyone else that's all, I just still wish we'd given it another go." Russ said running his hand down the side of her cheek, something that made her flinch away.

"Russ you have to stop doing this, we got divorced ten years ago! It didn't work then it wouldn't work now, we are still the same people we were a decade ago, you never appreciated me then so what makes you think you would now? I'm sorry if it hurts you but it's the truth, good night" Jo said kissing him on the cheek and walking away. She knew that he had to know how she truly felt, but it still didn't make it any easier. She had loved Russ very much once, but now she had moved on and she loved her life now, she was happy and she was hoping now that she and Mac's friendship had stepped up a gear, that she would be even happier.

"Everything ok?" Mac asked her as she walked towards her; she still looked gorgeous even though she'd had a tough but enjoyable night.

"Yeah I'm ok, just had to lay down the law to the ex that's all." She said smiling at him.

"Yeah I saw, well can I escort you home Miss Danville?" Mac asked her holding out his arm.

"You sure can sir!" Jo said in her deep southern twang.

As they walked back to Jo's apartment which was only a few blocks away, their entangled arms soon moved to their hands and as they entwined their fingers together they couldn't help but smile nervously at each other. They chatted the whole way home about the party and what Tyler's plans are for the future. As they reached Jo's apartment door they were both laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.

"All I'm saying is that if you danced with that friend of Tyler's anymore then I think he was going to faint!" Mac said laughing.

"Yeah well I felt very awkward to be honest, he was the one who asked me to dance, and if I didn't say yes than I would have looked horrible, and I like Tyler's friends, they're all very nice guys, and they keep Tyler out of trouble which I am very happy about, but yes ok I admit he was very keen on me!" Jo said, making them both burst out laughing again.

"Well who wouldn't be in that dress!" Mac said taking her hands in his.

"Well I will remember to wear this again for you then". Jo said moving closer to him.

"Do you want to come in for a coffee?" She asked him, hopeful he'd say yes so he wouldn't have to go yet.

"Yeah sure, besides I'm not ready to say goodnight to you yet." He whispered to her before kissing her softly.

Jo pulled away and smiled at him. Then turned around and unlocked her door, letting them both in. After they'd taken their jackets off they walked through into the lounge. Mac looked around the room and couldn't help but smile at just how 'Jo' the place was. There were pictures of Tyler and Ellie everywhere, and as he walked over to the TV there was a professional picture of the three of them, they all looked so happy and as he saw their smiling faces looking at him, he couldn't help but smile back.

"That's my favourite picture, we had it taken just as we move here, and you know new start and all that." Jo said from the kitchen.

"Well it's beautiful…but then you always are." He said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"You're such a charmer Mac". Jo said smiling, but she took a sharp intake of breath when she felt his lips on her neck and shoulder. Mac kissed his way down her shoulder and up again to her collar bone, and as he reached a certain spot on her neck she moaned, he committed that spot to memory and moved his hands over her stomach.

"Mmm Mac that feels nice." Jo whispered as she brushed her hand through his hair, pulling him closer to her. But then she moved away and Mac looked at her puzzled.

"Sorry Jo, was that too much too soon?" Mac asked her.

"No it's not that, I just thought we could go somewhere a bit more comfortable." Jo said biting her lip seductively and taking his hand and walking them through to the lounge. She pulled him close again and their lips locked immediately.

Jo pulled him down on to the couch on top of her and they continued their assault on each other's lips. Jo moaned into the kiss and granted his tongue the wish of joining hers. Mac let his hands do the talking and slowly moved them up her body, skimming over her perfect curves. Jo could feel goose bumps appearing on her skin under his touch, and as he moved his hands up higher and brushed over her dress, she broke away from the kiss.

"You ok? We're probably going a bit fast aren't we?" Mac said brushing her dress back down.

"Yes probably…but it feels too good to stop." She giggled then pulled him back down again.

"You're a tease Danville do you know that!" Mac said kissing her neck again.

"How much of a tease would I be if I asked you to touch me then?" Jo whispered into his ear.

Mac drew back from kissing her neck and looked down into her eyes, which were sparkling with lust.

"Are you sure?" Mac asked her surprised at her forwardness.

"Never been surer, I want you to touch me Mac." Jo said looking at him and smiling.

Mac could not believe it, he knew she spoke her mind but this was something else. He felt a bit innocent around her but it was a good innocent, all the other women he had been with were nowhere near as forward as Jo was, and it was something he would often get bored with after a while of being with them, never wanting to spice things up to keep the flame alive, but he had a good feeling about Jo.

"Anything you say Detective." Mac said smiling back down at her. He moved forward and sealed their lips together. As the kiss heated up, it seemed sexier than any other kiss they had shared so far, but then again Jo was the sexiest woman he had met in a long time, maybe even ever, he hated to admit it but she was even sexier than Claire, and that was saying something. Claire was beautiful and serene in everything she did, but Jo was sexy and gorgeous and she seemed do exude class and sexiness in every movement she made or word she uttered.

Mac ran his hands up her side again, this time taking the dress up with his movements, and bunching it up by her waist. He slid his hand up her soft thigh and smiled into the kiss when he felt her moan at his touch. He moved his hand up higher and higher until he came into contact with her lace knickers and it was his turn to moan. Jo smiled up at him and brushed her hand down his face, with Mac moving to kiss her hand. They sealed their lips together again and Mac pulled her underwear to one side, before he moved two fingers inside her, making her jolt her body upwards in pure pleasure.

"Oh god!" she moaned in delight.

Mac smiled at her and continued to thrust his fingers inside her slowly, beginning to pick up pace when she gripped on to his shoulder. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, due to the delicious movements Mac was using on her. Mac could feel himself getting harder just at the sound of her moans and even more so when she reached out for him.

"Mmm Mac that feel so good, I can't hold on much longer!" Jo said gripping one hand on the sofa whilst the other one gripped his shoulder still.

Mac thrust his fingers inside her one more time before she fell over the edge; she saw stars behind her eyes as she moaned in complete desire and satisfaction. Mac pulled his fingers out and kissed his way up to her lips again, sealing the deal with a slow and long kiss, filled with passion and love.

"Wow! Is there anything you're not good at?" Jo said trying to steady her breathing as their foreheads rested together.

"I am rubbish at golf if that helps?" Mac chuckled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Jo laughed out loud, making Mac's heart swell, as they shared another mind blowing kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

After their little passionate encounter Mac stayed lying on top of Jo, their bodies entwined together, neither of them wanting to move.

"As much as I don't want to, we are going to have to move at some point." Jo said stroking the side of his face.

"Yeah I suppose we do." Mac said smiling down at her, if anyone had told him that he would be lying like this with Jo a week ago, he'd have laughed, but right now, at that moment in time, he couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be!

Mac sat up slowly, pulling Jo's dress back down as he sat next to her. Jo swung her legs around and shuffled up close to him, missing the contact immediately.

"Do you want that coffee now?" Jo asked him, looking up at him.

"Yeah sure, do you want me to make them?" Mac asked her.

"That would be great; I'll go change into something more comfortable." Jo said standing up and walking towards her bedroom.

"As long as you promise me, that's not the last time I see that dress!" Mac said making her laugh from the other room, a sound he would never tire of hearing.

"I think I can promise you that Mac". Jo giggled, she couldn't believe how the night had progressed, one minute they were kissing on the couch, the next Mac was giving her the most pleasure she had ever felt in her life. How he did that she would never know, but she hoped they would get the chance to do it again and for her to return the favour, but she didn't want to rush into this, not just because she had such strong feelings for him, but because they also had to work with each other, and if they rushed into this and it all went wrong, working together would be a nightmare.

"Coffee's ready." Mac interrupted her thoughts as he poked his head around the corner of her bedroom door.

"Thanks, I'll be right there." Jo said sitting down on her bed, having changed into her pyjama shorts and tank top.

"You ok Jo?" Mac asked worriedly asked her. He walked into her bedroom and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about earlier that's all." Jo said smiling at him cheekily.

"Was there something wrong with it, I didn't push you too far did I?" Mac asked her, concern etched on his face.

"No…Mac why do you always think you've done something wrong? It was amazing, no one has ever made me feel that good before, god it was amazing! I'm just worried that if we take this too fast we'll ruin it that's all, and I don't want to lose you!" Jo said taking his hand in hers and entwining their fingers together.

"Oh good was worried for a second there, and as for rushing this, we can take it as slow or as fast as you like ok? I am totally fine with keeping it quiet for a while, especially from everyone at work, you know what they're like, especially Lindsey! It would mean I get to keep you all to myself for a bit too!" Mac said smiling at her and moving his hand to her thigh, his breath hitching in his throat at how smooth and warm her skin was. Jo sensed he was finding touching her difficult so she thought she'd tease him by moving her leg into his hand more, letting their knees brush together. Mac cleared his throat, he knew she was teasing him but on this occasion he didn't mind at all.

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page that's all, I don't usually rush into a relationship like this, well if that's what we are in, what's happening here?" Jo asked, she felt so embarrassed, just presuming they were in a relationship.

"Well I would say after what I did to you earlier, we are definitely in a relationship wouldn't you?" Mac said rubbing up her thigh.

"Umm yes you're probably right, ok well if we're in a relationship does that mean you're staying here tonight? I don't think I'm quite ready to let you go yet!" she said playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"I would say that I am definitely staying tonight yes, although I can't guarantee I will be able to keep my hands off you all night, within reason of course!" Mac said referring to their previous conversation.

"Well I think I could cope with that." Jo said kissing him softly.

The next morning Jo's eyes flickered open to the sun streaming through her window, she was about to stretch her legs out when she felt Mac nuzzle into her neck and kissed her.

"Mmm morning." Jo said linking their hand together around her middle.

"Morning to you too, what's your plan for the day then?" Mac asked her planting kisses on her shoulder and collarbone.

"I'm going shopping with Lindsey, she wants some help buying Danny an anniversary present, I have no idea why she thinks I will know what to buy him, but it'll be a nice girly day, how about you?" Jo said turning round so she was facing him, stroking his cheek.

"Well I am doing exactly the same thing with Danny! Don and Sheldon are coming along too and we'll go out for some beers after, should be a nice manly day!" Mac said copying what she'd said before him, making her laugh.

"Then maybe when you're done you could come over for dinner? Ellie is cooking tonight; she's got really into it!" Jo said smiling at him.

"Tell Ellie if she poisons me she will never hear the end of it!" Mac said brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"I'll tell her, Tyler will be here too so you guys can talk about the game you're going to next week."

"Sounds good to me, right I better get up, as much as lying here with you all day sounds a lot more appealing than being dragged around the shops looking for something for Lindsey all day!" Mac said sighing.

"Well between you and me, she said she was hoping that Danny would buy her some new Gucci shoes after Lucy ruined her favourite pair by throwing up all over them last week, so maybe you could suggest that, make your day a bit shorter?" Jo said to him smiling at his reaction.

"Now I knew there was a reason why I'd fallen for you Danville!" Mac said pulling her close and kissing her, the kiss grew even more passionate as Jo rolled over on top of him, straddling his waist and running her hands through his hair as he kissed her passionately.

Mac moaned as she grinded her hips into him. He slipped his hands underneath her top and up her back, feeling her smile into the kiss. He could feel he was getting harder and harder by the second, something that didn't go un-noticed by Jo. She broke away from him and they rested their heads together.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Mac said kissing down her neck, making her push into him more.

"I think I have a slight idea yes" Jo said chuckling.

"I really need to get going before I can't stop" Mac said moving forward so Jo fell back on the bed behind her with Mac resting his hands either side of her head and looking down at her.

"You sure I can't tempt you?" Jo said seductively running her foot up the inside of his thigh, causing him to moan under his breath.

"I am sure you could but I am going to be late to meet the guys if I don't get ready now, and then they'll ask why I'm late and then they'll know something is up." Mac explained.

"Ok I suppose I can let you off this time, but next time I offer to pay you back for what you do to me, don't resist, it'll just end up in me forcing myself on you, and we both know that may not be pretty!" Jo giggled.

"Oh I dunno, could be quite fun!" Mac said kissing her once more before getting off the bed and heading towards the shower, grabbing a towel off the rack as he entered the bathroom.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It was now the afternoon and Jo had met Lindsey and Lucy in Central Park before they started their shopping.

"Come on sweetie; let's go buy Daddy a present". Lindsey called out to Lucy who was playing in the sand pit.

"Ok Mummy." Lucy said running up to the two women and holding both their hands, so she had one of them on each side of her.

"Right, what do you think your Daddy will want Lucy?" Jo asked her as they exited the park.

"Well Daddy loves my tea set, he played it with me yesterday before you came home from work, maybe we could get him one too?" Lucy suggested.

Jo and Lindsey looked at each other and tried not to laugh.

"That's a great idea honey, maybe we could buy that for you to give Daddy?" Lindsey said satisfying Lucy for a bit.

"Well now we've worked out what this little lady is going to buy Danny, shall we think about what you could get him?" Jo asked smiling at her friend.

"Yeah ok, well I have a few ideas, he needs a new baseball shirt after he attempted to wash it the other day, and let's just say it will now be hanging in Lucy's closet!" Lindsey said giggling, and they three of them walked to the sports store.

Across town Danny, Don, Sheldon and Mac were in the Gucci shop trying to find a pair that Lindsey would like.

"How about these ones?" Don asked holding up a bright pink pair.

"Do you seriously see Lindsey wearing those?" Sheldon asked

"Yeah ok, maybe not." Don said putting them back; this could be harder than he thought it was going to be.

Over the other side of the store Danny and Mac were looking at the shelves. Danny had a pretty good idea of what ones he wanted to get, but he just wanted to make sure there wasn't another pair that would scream out to him more.

Mac was looking at the shelves but wasn't really paying much attention to the shoes. In the back of his mind he couldn't get Jo out of his head. Yesterday he woke up excited to see her at Tyler's party and today, he woke up in a relationship with her! To anyone else it was probably going a bit fast but it just felt right with her. She brought him out of his shell, and he knew that around her he was a completely different person, he was more relaxed and she also brought out his cheeky side, a side he hadn't seen in a long time.

"So Mac, I tried to call you at home last night to arrange today, you weren't in." Danny asked him.

"Ummm yeah well I was out with a friend whose come in to town; just a few drinks that sort of thing." Mac said trying to cover up the fact he was with Jo.

"Oh right well hope you had fun, you deserve to get out and have a laugh, talking of fun, do you want to come round for dinner tonight? Lucy keeps asking when Uncle Mac is coming over again!" Danny said finally settling on a pair of shoes.

"Oh well I'm busy tonight, told Chief Carver I'd look over a case for him quickly tonight." Mac said, he hated lying to Danny, out of them all he was probably closest to him, but he really wanted to see Jo again tonight.

"That's cool, as long as you're coming on Saturday though for Lucy's Birthday?" Danny said smiling at his friend, he knew deep down there was probably another reason for Mac being busy that night, but he wouldn't pry.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world!" Mac said

"Are you getting those ones?"

"Yeah, they're not that much different from her other pair, but she loved them, so I will play it safe and get these." Danny said walking over to the counter, signalling to Don and Sheldon he'd found the pair.

…..

"Daddy will love this one! Now he will have the purple one and I will have the pink one!" Lucy said handing Lindsey the tea set off the shelf.

"Ok baby, are you hungry?" Lindsey said bending down to her height.

"I know I am!" Jo said making Lucy giggle.

"Ok well let's go eat, I know a great place." Lindsey said paying, then walking out the store.

…..

"Look there's Daddy, and Uncle Mac!" Lucy said running over to the guys' table.

"Hey baby girl, have fun shopping with Mummy and Jo?" Danny asked picking Lucy up and sitting her on his lap.

"Hey guys, buy me something nice?" Lindsey teased sitting down next to Danny, the rest of them all engaged in conversation, except Jo and Mac who sat down next to each other at the table.

"Hi, you girls have fun?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah was nice, learnt something very interesting about Danny, which I will tell you later." Jo said winking at him.

"Ooh I look forward to that, right guys what do we all want? I'll go order." Mac said writing down everyone's orders, then he walked to bar, he pulled out his phone, looking over at the table, smiling at Jo laughing with everyone else. He typed out a message then put it back in his pocket.

Over at the table Jo felt her phone vibrate in her bag, she pulled it out and read:

**From: Mac Taylor**

**To: Jo Danville**

**You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now! Mxxx**

Jo felt her body tingle all over and couldn't hide the smile that graced her face, which didn't go un-noticed by Sheldon.

"Ooh has our Ms Danville got a booty call! You're shameless boss!" Sheldon said laughing.

"Nope, not that lucky guys, that was just Tyler saying he's bringing a girl to meet us at dinner tonight.

Mac walked back over to the table and sat back down next to Jo.

"You are in so much trouble later Taylor!" Jo whispered under her breath so no one else would hear.

"I look forward to it! By the way is Taylor really bringing someone?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, this girl he's crazy about apparently, he text me earlier when I was out with Lindsey." Jo said smiling at him.

"Uncle Mac, when are you coming over to play again?" Lucy asked him sweetly, distracting him from his conversation

"Well I hear it's a special little lady's birthday on Saturday, so I may just pop over and see you then if you'd like?" Mac said stroking her chubby cheek.

"Yay! Are you coming too Jo?" Lucy asked hopeful.

"I sure am honey bee, have your present all wrapped up!" Jo said smiling at her.

"I am soooo excited; I am going to be 3!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Yeah well you'll still be my baby girl!" Danny said kissing her cheek.

"Ahh if only Tyler would let me still call him my baby!" Jo said sighing.

"Well I am going to be Daddy's baby forever!" Lucy said exaggerating with her arms, making them all laugh.

"So what are the plans for Saturday then Lindsey?" Don asked her.

As Lindsey explained the plans, Jo leant on the table and started colouring with Lucy, but whilst she innocently moved the crayon across the paper, she had sneakily kicked one of her shoes off and was now making a beeline for Mac's trouser leg. She slipped her foot up his leg, feeling his eyes burning into the back of her head. Mac wanted to moan out loud, especially as he also felt a hand slip under the table and caress his thigh.

"You ok there Mac?" Danny asked him, noticing the look on his face.

"Yeah…umm yeah I'm fine just a bit tired that's all!" Mac said faking a yawn.

"Maybe you should get an early night, you know just chill out." Jo said looking over at him, having removed her hand in case someone saw her.

"Oh I plan to; nothing's getting in the way of me and bed tonight." Mac said looking back at her.

"Yay food's here!" Lucy said, making them all look over at the waitress.

…..

They all ate their meals and enjoyed each other's company and the fact they'd got round to seeing each other outside work.

"Right well we better head off guys, Lucy needs a sleep…and well so does Danny!" Lindsey said hugging them all.

"Ha ha that's two things I've learnt about you today Messer!" Jo said laughing.

"What's the other one?" Danny asked, looking at Lindsey for the answer.

"Ahh no you're not getting it out of me, I'm saving that one for when I really need it!" Jo said high fiving Lindsey.

"Women!" Danny said shaking his head.

"Bye you guys." Danny and Lindsey said as they left the restaurant.

"Right I better get going too, Tyler and this new girl will over soon, and I'm sure Ellie is making a mess of the kitchen as we speak." Jo said standing up and grabbing her jacket.

"I'll walk with you, Carver's office is near your place." Mac said standing up with her.

"Bye guys, see you Monday." Don said waving to them.

"Yeah see ya." Sheldon said joining in.

As Jo and Mac walked down the street they couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Thank god we're outside!" Jo said as she grasped Mac's hand, smiling as he entwined their fingers together.

"Yeah me too, although you are in a lot of trouble for that little stunt you pulled back there." Mac said pulling her close to him.

"I'm sorry, just couldn't help myself." Jo said wrapping an arm around him, smiling happily as he wrapped an arm around her too, settling his hand just on her hip.

They walked to Jo's apartment and as they stepped into the lift and the doors closed, Jo felt herself being pushed up against the wall and Mac's lips on hers. She giggled into the kiss, and felt Mac's hands roam over her body and up to her face holding her cheeks with his hands.

"I have wanted to do that all day!" Mac said when thy broke apart, when the need for air became too much.

"Mmm me too." Jo said grinning at him.

They were just about to lean in for another kiss when the doors pinged open on Jo's floor and there standing by her door was Tyler and holding his hand was a slim brunette.

"Mom! Hey." Tyler said smiling at her.

"Hey honey, didn't think you were coming over for at least another hour." Jo said walking out of the lift with Mac, they both couldn't hide the blush off their face and all Tyler's date could do was smile at what they nearly saw.

"Yeah well Robyn and I were running a bit early so we thought we come by no, that's ok isn't it?" Tyler asked her as Jo unlocked the door and they walked in.

"Of course it's ok honey, well as Tyler has already told me your name, it's lovely to meet you Robyn." Jo said holding her hand out to the young girl in front of her.

"You too Ms Danville, Tyler's told me a lot about you." Robyn answered shaking Jo's hand.

"Oh please, call me Jo, and this is Mac…my….boss." Jo said looking at Mac for reassurance.

"Nice to meet you Robyn." Mac said winking at Jo when they weren't looking.

"Hey Mac." Tyler said pumping his hand.

"Hey Tyler, looking forward to the game Monday night?" Mac asked him taking Robyn's jacket.

"Oh god yes! Cannot wait, plus I handed in all my final coursework on Friday so I am now free for the summer". Tyler said stretching his hands up in the air with delight.

"Yeah ok babe don't rub it in!" Robyn said smiling at him.

"What are you majoring in?" Mac asked her as they all walked through to the kitchen, where Ellie had already started cooking.

"Well I'm pre-law, hardest thing I've ever done but I love it!" Robyn said smiling at Tyler as he took her hand.

"Wow that sounds amazing Robyn, I'm so glad my boy found a beautiful, smart girl to go out with!" Jo said laughing.

"Yeah well she's not the only one who's happy about it!" Tyler said kissing her.

"Eugh! Hello would be nice!" Ellie said pretending to be sick.

"Hey sweetie, mmm something smells nice." Jo said kissing her daughter's head.

"Yeah well it won't be long so why don't you set the table Tyler, make yourself useful!" Ellie said playfully hitting him.

"Ooh watch it Danville I will so take you!" Tyler said picking her up an turning her upside down.

"Ahh Tyler put me down, you re so gunna get it!" Ellie said waving her arms around trying to grab his legs.

"Are they always like this?" Robyn asked laughing.

"Err yes, welcome to the mad house Robyn…you're gunna love it!" Mac said smiling at her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Say you give in, say you give in!" Tyler said still hanging Ellie upside down.

"Never! Now unless you want me to poison your dinner, put me down!" Ellie said in between giggles.

"Ok, but only because I'm starving!" Tyler said gently putting her back down.

"Thank you, now please set the table whilst I check on dinner." Ellie said grabbing the oven gloves and opening the oven door.

"I'm guessing she didn't get her culinary skills from you then?" Mac teased Jo as they sat on the sofa.

"Nope, she definitely did not! No my Mom always cooks with them whenever we visit or when she's here, I suppose Ellie's just picked it all up from her." Jo said smiling at the little scene in the kitchen. Tyler and Robyn here laying the table and they kept glancing lovingly at each other.

"She seems nice doesn't she?" Jo said looking back at Mac.

"Yeah, really smart girl too, I have a few friends in the force that majored in Law, it is not easy." Mac said wishing he could just reach out and pull her towards him, but he knew they were keeping their relationship between them at the moment.

"No it's not, but she seems smart enough to handle it…are you staying tonight?" Jo whispered to him.

"I wish I could but what we gunna do about the kids, won't they suspect something when I don't go home?" Mac asked her, gently stroking her hand that was placed next to his on the sofa.

"We'll think of something." Jo whispered back.

"Dinner's ready you two." Ellie said poking her head around the kitchen door.

"We're coming sweetheart." Jo said as they both walked to the kitchen.

An hour later and they were all still sitting at the table enjoying each other's company.

"So how'd you meet my awful big brother Robyn?" Ellie asked ducking away from Tyler's hand.

"Well I was in the student union bar with my best friend Steph and I turned around to go get us another round of drinks and bumped into Tyler…literally!" She said laughing.

"I'd had a really bad day so was not in the mood to listen to his chat up lines!" she said taking his hand on the table.

"How did you know I was going to chat you up? I just wanted to make sure you were ok, then maybe buy you a drink and then slip in a one liner!" he said making them all chuckle.

"Well two weeks later he walked into my Mom's bakery down on William Street, and I couldn't refuse him really could I?" She said smiling.

"Oh my god, your Mom owns Ruby's Bakery? I love it in there!" Jo said getting excited.

"Tell me about it, she drags me down there at least twice a week, something about a Strawberry Swirl cupcake that drives her wild!" Mac said laughing.

"Well I'm glad you said that because…I just happened to have brought a box of all Mum's specials, and here is a Strawberry Swirl just for you." Robyn said putting the box in the middle of the table.

"Tyler, you have my permission to marry her!" Jo said smiling excitedly.

A few hours later and Robyn and Tyler were leaving. Jo and Mac had decided that he would leave the same time as them, but would then sneak back when Jo messaged him to say Ellie was in bed.

"Thanks for dinner Ellie it was great!" Robyn said hugging her.

"You're welcome and thanks for inviting me to a baking class at the bakery I can't wait!" Ellie said smiling happily.

"Oh you're welcome Mom can't wait either, she doesn't get enough young people in for the classes. Thanks for having us Jo, it was great to meet you, you too Mac." Robyn said smiling into Jo's hug as she held her close.

"Bye Mom, I'll call you tomorrow, Mac I'll see you at the North side gate on Wednesday night." Tyler said hugging his Mom then Mac.

"Yeah see you later honey, take care of this one." Jo said smiling at the two of them.

"See you Wednesday Tyler." Mac said as they closed the door behind them.

Mac and Jo just smiled at each other, knowing they'd have to put their plan into action at any minute. Mac was just about make his excuses to go when Ellie leant over and hugged her Mom.

"Right well I am exhausted, I'm off to bed. Night Mom, night Mac, I'm guessing you're staying over, so I'll see you in the morning." Ellie said winking at them then disappearing into her bedroom. All they could do was look at each other and laugh.

"She is too grown up for her own good." Mac said smiling.

"Yeah well I think she is a very smart girl too" Jo said bringing him in close.

"Mmm and what makes you say that huh?" Mac said wrapping his arms round her waist.

"Well she makes a very good point of you staying over, because after that little taster in the elevator earlier, there's no way in hell I'm letting you leave tonight." Jo said nuzzling her nose up against his.

"Oh really? And what makes you think I'd stay?" Mac said teasing her.

"Because it's just like my Daddy used to say, no matter how hard you fight it, you just can't resist a Southern girl!" Jo said moving away from him and sauntering backwards towards her bedroom, removing her shirt in the process and throwing it at Mac.

Mac knew he could agree there, he never could say no to her, even when he first met her, and after tonight he knew he'd never be able to resist her again!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten (smutty update)

Mac raced after her into the bedroom with Jo squealing as he caught up with her and he grabbed her as they fell backwards onto her bed. They were both fighting for breath as they laughed.

"I love seeing this side of you Mac." Jo said looking up to him and stroking his cheek with her finger.

"Well I think you'll be seeing a lot more of it, as you seem to be the one who brings it out of me." Mac said as he leaned forward and connected their lips together.

"Mmm" was all Jo could muster up as the butterflies began to soar in her stomach, just at Mac's kiss.

The kiss began to get more heated and Jo ran her fingers through his hair as Mac traced down her side with his hand, with their tongues moving together in harmony.

"God you're gorgeous!" Mac said as they broke away for air.

"Mmm you're not too bad yourself Taylor." Jo said as she began to undo his shirt, tantalisingly slow, one button at a time as she maintained eye contact with him.

"Are you sure you want to do this Jo?" Mac askes, suddenly feeling like it was going a little fast.

"Relax Mac, I'm not that kinda girl, I just want to check out the whole package that's all." Jo said winking at him.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Mac said his breath hitching in his throat as she finished undoing his shirt buttons, making sure she touched his toned chest as she went.

"I have some idea yes." Jo giggled as she felt Mac's arousal for her press up against her thigh.

"So…just what kind of girl are you?" Mac asked intrigued as to what was going to happen next.

"Well I'm definitely not the kind of girl to sleep with a guy on the second date, even if tonight was a date or not…but I definitely the kind of girl who returns a favour." Jo said as she rolled them over so she was now on top of him, straddling his waist.

"I'm glad to hear it." Mac said against her lips as she kissed him with all the love and passion she could muster, enjoying the feeling of his hands running through her hair.

Jo started to move the kisses down Mac's body loving the fact his muscles contracted as she smothered his chest in kisses. She could feel herself going dizzy with the delicious smell of his aftershave, something that had been teasing her all night as he sat next to her at the dinner table. She kissed back up his chest again, this time paying more attention to his scar.

"Does it hurt?" Jo whispered to him, whilst kissing and running her tongue across it.

"Not when you do that, no." Mac chuckled pulling her face up to meet his again, their lips joining once more.

Jo giggled into the kiss and entered her tongue into the mix. She broke away, planting one more quick kiss onto his lips before she moved back down his body, this time undoing the button on his jeans and pulling them down his legs, they both laughed at how quickly she pulled them off.

"Keen are we?" Mac asked amused at her actions.

"Well by the looks of you, I'd say we both are!" Jo said nodding towards the tent in his pants.

"That's all your fault Danville; you shouldn't be so damn sexy!" Mac said kissing her hand.

"Mmm well I may have to help with that little problem." Jo said slowly pulling off his underwear.

"Less of the little please!" Mac said making Jo burst out laughing.

As Jo threw his pants behind her and onto the floor she was very impressed by what she saw. She smiled at him then bent down, kissing his thighs and anywhere but where he really wanted her.

"Jo please….." Mac begged her.

"Patience Detective." Jo teased running her hands up his legs.

"You're going to be in so much trouble in a bit." Mac threatened.

Jo cut him off by running her tongue up his shaft and popping the head into her mouth.

"Oh god!" Mac moaned, throwing his head back onto the bed.

Jo moved her mouth up and down Mac's cock smiling as she saw Mac grip onto the bed sheets, moaning in delight.

"Oh god Jo, that feels so good!" Mac moaned.

Jo took her mouth off of his member and moved up his body.

"Why did you stop?" Mac asked breathless.

"Because, Mac, you are making too much noise and Ellie is only across the hall." Jo whispered against his lips.

"I see I am going to have to change my tactics." Jo said as she lay down next to him, taking him her hand and rubbing him slowly.

Mac moved closer to her and ran his hands through her hair, kissing her deeply to hide his moans.

"God you are so amazing!" Mac whispered in her ear, instantly causing heat to rise on Jo's skin.

"Am I making you blush?" Mac giggled.

"Mmm you are, everywhere…" Jo giggled back.

"I love that I have that effect on you." Mac said nuzzling her neck.

"You're not the only one." Jo smiled happily at him.

Jo continued her movements until she felt Mac move up on the bed in sheer pleasure. Jo moved up with him and they joined their lips together again, this time muffling the sounds of Mac's groans even more as he came hard.

"Is there anything you're not good at?" Mac asked her the same question she had asked him after their last intimate encounter, once he's got his breath back.

"Umm well I am useless at sewing if that helps." Jo giggled, Mac laughed with her. They lay in each other's arms for a while then crawled under her covers and fell asleep cuddled up together. The last thing Mac thought of before he went to sleep was how he was quickly falling in love with Jo Danville and everything about her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to update, have been pretty stuck for inspiration, not sure I like this update much but it's ok haha xxx**

Chapter Eleven

The next morning Mac woke up with the sun streaming through the windows, he rubbed his eyes to help himself wake up. He looked over at the clock and saw it was 7am; he'd have to get up and go to work soon.

"Good morning." He heard Jo mumble from next to him.

"Morning beautiful." He replied leaning over and kissing her shoulder then making his way up to her ear, taking in her decadent smell.

"What's the time?" Jo asked, sighing under Mac's kisses.

"Just gone 7, I better get going if I'm going to get back to mine and get changed and get to work on time." Mac said glumly.

"Oh, can't we just call in sick and stay in bed together all day?" Jo asked, sidling up to him and stroking his bare chest.

"I wish we could Jo but that would be not only very unprofessional but also very obvious to everyone that we are both off don't you think?" He said running his hand through her hair.

"Mmm maybe you're right, but maybe we could just say we've both come down with the flu or something, it's a perfectly good excuse and entirely possible for two people in the same office to get the flu at the same time." Jo said rambling.

"I know I know, but as your boss I need to remain impartial, no matter how much I want to stay in bed with you all day." Mac said going to get out of the bed.

"And as your second in command I'll make it worth your while…" Jo said teasingly pulling him back down.

"I'm sure you would…but unfortunately we have to get up because Ellie also needs walking to school, so the chances of us staying in bed all day are very slim." Mac said bending down and kissing her. The kiss was meant to just be to pacify her but as she pulled him down on top of her and deepened the kiss, he could feel himself giving in.

"Mmm, are you sure I can't change your mind?" Jo said as she ran her hands over his back.

"Keep doing what you're doing and it may just work." Mac said kissing her deeply again, moaning into the kiss and running his hand up her thigh.

"Mom!" Ellie called from the kitchen

"Ok I'm up!" Jo sighed as Mac rolled off of her and laid back on the bed.

"You take the shower in here and I'll get in after you." Jo said walking round the bed, kissed him one more time and then walked out of the bedroom in search of Ellie.

"Yes oh beautiful daughter of mine, why did you shout my name?" Jo said as she walked into the kitchen.

"There's a huuuuge spider over there!" Ellie said as she sat on the worktop.

"Oh my god are you serious?" Jo said leaping up onto it next to her.

"Unfortunately I am, he is so big he looks like he's walking around in boots! MAC!" Ellie screamed.

"What's going on?" Mac said as he ran in, luckily he had the sense to put a t-shirt on before he went in search of what was wrong.

"There's a huge spider over there!" Jo screamed pointing towards the dining room table.

"Ok, calm down I'll get a glass and a piece of paper and get him out of your way." Mac said as he went on a hunt for the mysterious spider. He found it and gently put it in the glass, before carrying it over to the window and gently throwing it out.

"There…now my little damsels in distress I need to jump in the shower." He said helping them down off the counter top.

"Thanks Mac I hate spiders!" Ellie said smiling at him.

"You're welcome; I have to admit he was pretty big!" Mac said chuckling at Ellie's scared face then left the kitchen and headed to the shower.

"Well I'm glad Mac was here, if it had been left to us to get rid of that thing, we'd have been here all day!" Jo laughed as he poured herself a coffee.

"Yeah it was pretty cool, you know I'm ok with you and Mac being together you know Mom, don't feel like you two have to hide from me, Tyler's cool too." Ellie said munching on an apple.

"When did you get so grown up?" Jo said hugging her.

"I've always been like this. Some of the girls' Moms in my year are dating guys, but none of them are as cool as Mac so I'm all for it!" Ellie said smiling sweetly.

"Well thank you baby girl, but Mac and I are just taking it slow, no one at work knows about us, we will tell them just not yet ok?" Jo said sitting down at the table with Ellie.

"Ok, right I better go and get ready for school." Ellie said kissing Jo on the cheek then walking towards her room.

…..

It was now lunchtime and Mac and Jo had been trying their best to avoid each other all day, because they knew that if they saw each other or were along together they wouldn't be able to help themselves. Jo was in the lab with Danny and Lindsey and Mac was down in the morgue with Sid.

"So what do we have here Sid?" Mac asked him.

"Unknown 25 year old male, Caucasian with a blunt force trauma to the side of the head." Sid explained to Mac.

"Is that our COD?" Mac asked standing next to the body.

"Unfortunately not, that would make my job way too easy, no COD was this stab wound to the abdomen." Sid said clicking his glasses together and showing Mac the fatal wound.

"Angle of the wound suggests our murderer was standing over him, do you have an idea of time of death?" Mac asked looking at the body more closely.

"Well the body temp when he came in suggests it was sometime late last night, early this morning, but what is strange is that this wound on his head is older, I'd say at least a week old going by the pattern of bruising, and it was some blow to the head that's for sure!" Sid explained.

"Hmm so our victim may have had a meeting with the murderer before his death, and maybe he or she was unsuccessful the first time round, so came back again to finish of the job?" Mac said trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Looks that way yes; it's definitely one possibility anyway." Sid said walking away.

Mac stayed down in the morgue looking over the body for a few more minutes before he made his way back up to his office. As he reached the floor he needed he glanced over at his office and saw Jo was in there waiting to talk to him. He took a deep breath before he walked in.

"Hey Jo, everything ok?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah fine, I think we may have an ID on out body in the morgue." Jo said sitting down on the chair opposite Mac.

"Great, who is he?" Mac asked sitting down.

"Well he's a missing person; his prints came up on the system, Jake Thompson. His parents reported him missing six years ago, he just upped and left after a family argument when he was 19 and was never seen again…poor kid, he wasn't much younger than Tyler, I can't imagine what his parents have been going through all these years." Jo said sadly.

"Ok well we need to get them in unfortunately and get him identified; do we know anything else about him?" Mac asked her, getting lost in her eyes.

"Nothing more than what Sid has told us about his injuries, he had no priors no arrests, nothing, on paper he was a good kid." Jo said sighing.

"Ok well keep on it, we may be able to get something from his parents, see if you can find out what this argument was about, it may lead us to something. Mac concluded, before they both gave each other a knowing smile then Jo left.

As Jo was walking away her phone beeped in her pocket, she got it out and smiled when she saw it was from Mac.

**To: Jo Danville**

**From: Mac Taylor**

**Meet me at Delayneys at 1pm for lunch…my treat**

**Mxxx**

Jo turned around to face Mac's office; she smiled at him when he looked up at her. A mile that not only said she would meet him, but that she also couldn't wait to be alone with him.

Please review y lovelies xxx


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